Sorting Things Out
by ArtisteFish
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome have a little heart-to-heart regarding ardent ancestors, family scrolls, and memories from a castle beyond a mirror. Takes place directly after episodes 137-140.


Sorting Things Out, an Inuyasha Oneshot Fanfic

*Takes place after the episodes 137-140 with the Naginata of Kenkon and Akitoki Hojo; please watch that episode arc before reading this if you haven't already, because otherwise this won't make a lick of sense.*

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"Inuyasha?"

The half-demon glanced down at Kagome from his perch atop the tall barren tree. It had only been a couple of days since she had last sought him out in this place, persuading him to help the accident-prone Akitoki to complete his not-so-surprisingly dangerous quest of disposing of the demonic Ken blade.

He couldn't say he was in any better of a mood now than he was then.

"Inuyasha, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"You are talking to me."

Kagome's lips pursed, but she kept her temper, saying in a somewhat more pleading voice "I'd like to talk to you face to face. I have something to tell you."

He scoffed in annoyance, but leapt down from the tree anyways, standing close in front of her, his arms crossed in his sleeves. "Well? Whaddaya have to say that's so important?"

Her eyes were bright as she looked up at him with a somewhat meek smile, saying softly "I kinda… forgot to say this earlier, what with seeing Hojo off and traveling back and everything, but… thank you for saving me Inuyasha. Again."

He stared at her as the words left her mouth. He hadn't expected that, but then again… "Huh, idiot. As if you need to thank me for something like that."

Kagome smiled as if she had expected such a response, then answered "Oh I know, it's just… I know this whole situation got you upset, and I just –"

"Whaddaya mean upset? I ain't upset!"

The fact that his snarling face was inches from hers and his posture literally radiated agitation did little to help his case, and Kagome eyed him with due skepticism. "Oh really? Then why have you been sulking since we got back?"

Inuyasha huffed and turned away abruptly. "What is it with you people and saying I sulk? I don't _sulk_. I just came out here to think is all."

Kagome sighed wearily and turned away, saying over her shoulder "Look, I didn't come out here to argue. I really am grateful you saved me, and I just wanted to let you know that I'm not mad. So you don't have to keep acting so upset with me."

Her defeated tone caught his attention, and as he turned to watch, her retreating figure lit a flame of urgency inside him, and before he knew it he had grabbed her wrist.

"Kagome… wait."

She turned back with surprised and eager eyes, and her seeming willingness to listen to him gave him the courage to plow on. "It's not… it's not what you think it is. I'm not mad. I'm just… this whole mess brought up a lot of stuff I didn't really wanna think about again, and I…."

Her smile returned as he trailed off, and she reached her free hand to lay it comfortingly on his arm. "I know Inuyasha; you already told us how Hoshiyomi's situation reminded you of those times you were taken over by your demon blood. You don't have to explain."

Her accepting attitude usually made him feel light, but this time it only fueled his frustration.

"No, you don't get it! It's not about those other times. Those were different! It's…."

Kagome waited and watched him carefully as he sifted through words in his head, trying to figure out just how to say this in a way that she'd finally understand… and in a way that would let him reveal as little as possible about his carefully guarded feelings. "It's that… seeing Akitoki again, and having to help him out with yet another cursed family-treasure or whatever, it just… reminded me of… last time."

"Last time?" Kagome mimicked, her voice soft and eyes glazing with memories.

"You know: with Kaguya and that mirror."

Her mouth rounded in a silent 'oh', and he could tell she was starting to get it. But he wasn't about to take any chances. He only wanted to say this once.

"Helping Akitoki and taking on that power-crazed ninja reminded me of how far gone I was back then. You didn't see it Kagome, when Akitoki first brought out the Ken blade; it had some kind of pull on me that I wasn't even aware of. Miroku and Shippo had to snap me out of it, but it was just like before; my demon blood wanted the power, and I wasn't even aware of what was happening to me. So I started to wonder 'what if something happens like it did with Kaguya and I go crazy?' I can't ever forget how she turned me into a monster, and how I attacked you and Miroku… especially you, and I didn't even care. I didn't want that to happen again."

Kagome stared at him as if seeing him with new eyes. "So… was that why you said those things you did? About how humans shouldn't get involved in the business of demons?"

Inuyasha could have sighed with relief. Finally, she was _getting_ it. It could only go up from here – he hoped.

"Of course that's why."

She still seemed a bit surprised, asking hesitantly "Then… there's not… I mean, you weren't trying to… distance yourself from me?"

Inuyasha cocked his head in a puppy-like look of confusion. "Whaddaya mean by that?"

Her look was surprisingly sheepish as she responded "Well you were so insistent about it, I kind of thought you were saying we, ah… couldn't… uh…."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her flustered speech, bending slightly to meet her downcast eyes as he said sternly "Just spit it out Kagome."

She met his gaze suddenly, and the guilt he saw in her face made him pause. "Is it really alright for me to be with you?"

He didn't know what to say. Well, he _knew_ what to say, but he couldn't believe what _she_ had said. How could she ask such a thing?

"Are you crazy or something? Don't tell me you're letting Hoshiyomi's words get to you. Just because he had a bad experience, doesn't mean humans and demons can't ever be together."

She smiled brightly, and he frantically went over his own words in his head, wondering if he had revealed too much.

"You're right Inuyasha" she said in her normal cheery tone. He once again resisted the urge to sigh – whether from relief or from that sunny voice, he wasn't sure. "I shouldn't have doubted you. And I should have guessed you were only worried about us. I'm sorry."

The sincerity of her apology caught him off guard, as did the guilt accompanying it. He had been giving her the cold shoulder and hiding his feelings, and here she was apologizing? He really was a jerk.

Coming to the sudden conclusion that it was high time he did some reassuring of his own, he reached out and pulled her into a light hug, resting his chin atop her head and staring out into the trees, pretending his cheeks weren't rosy pink. "You shouldn't have to apologize. I should though. S-sorry I didn't just tell you earlier. I didn't think you'd take it like that."

Kagome's arms were quick to wrap around him as well, and she leaned into him heavily. He could almost hear her happy sigh, and it only made his blushing worse. "Oh Inuyasha, thank you for saying that. But really, I should just have more faith in you! And I usually do! It's just with Hojo showing up, and then the scroll that the other Hojo had, and –"

"Wait – what? What scroll? What other Hojo?" He looked down accusingly, but all he could see was her hair; she showed no signs of moving away.

And from her next words, he guessed it was because she didn't want him to see her expression. "Oh you know, the Hojo from my era – his ancestor. You uh… fought him at the cultural festival."

Inuyasha voiced a thoughtful "Huh" as he recalled the incident. Come to think of it, that guy had looked familiar….

"So what about this scroll thing then?"

Kagome made a noise that sounded vaguely like a frightened mouse and said in a forced voice "Oh it's nothing really. Hojo just showed me an old family scroll that had Akitoki on it… and his wife… named Kagome."

Inuyasha's reaction was sudden and slightly painful as he squeezed Kagome to him in a death grip.

"Um, _ow_."

Her perturbed response brought him back down to earth, but his next reaction wasn't much better. In fact, Kagome found she preferred the first.

The hurt in his eyes as he looked down at her through heavy white bangs was so palpable that she could almost see his heart breaking behind them as he said in a defeated voice "You're gonna marry him?"

She supposed her shout of "NO!" might have been a bit too loud and a bit too angry, but it seemed to snap him out of that scary 'abandoned puppy' look he had been giving her. Seeing some of his angry spark start to seep back into his eyes, she ventured with further explanation "It was just a coincidence! I mean, sure Akitoki Hojo said he would jump at the chance to marry me, but – "

"HE SAID _WHAT_?!"

Kagome winced at her own slip, but didn't back down as she said "It doesn't matter! I'm not going to marry him! Besides, you heard him say he _loved_ me and didn't flip out!"

Inuyasha glared down at her, his angry expression slightly tampered by the fact that his arms were still around her back. "That's different! Everyone could tell Akitoki cared about you, and he's harmless. I don't think he could make a pass at you if he tried. But _marriage_ … that's _different_. That's serious."

She peered up at him with veiled interest, saying in a tone he couldn't decipher "Oh really?"

They stared at each other a moment more, until Kagome's smile broke and she laughed softly, and suddenly Inuyasha saw her face right up close as she stood on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek.

His wide eyes bored holes into hers and her confident smile quickly fell into something more subdued as she said sheepishly "I uh… thought since you had all those other bad memories brought up recently, you could use some reminding of the… uh… _better_ ones."

He almost let her leave it at that and walk off, but with the slightest movement away he found himself blurting "I didn't forget."

Now it was her turn to stare at him with wide eyes, and her cheeks erupted into a blush, but she didn't say a word.

"I've been thinking about that a lot – I mean too – since it happ- I mean since Akitoki happened on us."

He had to forcibly clench his jaw to keep the rest of the dribble in his head from spilling past his lips. Boy was he on a roll today.

The smile underneath the pink on her cheeks was so small and sweet that he was just about ready to do some reminding of his own, but the little voice of caution in his head kept him from moving forward. It really wasn't time for that yet… was it?

"A-anyways…" Kagome stuttered, her voice distracting him and saving Inuyasha the internal battle he was on the verge of engaging in "I just want you to know that even though things got a little confusing for a while, I'm not going to leave your side." She paused for a moment, looking up at him with sudden confidence and saying with resolve "You couldn't keep me away if you tried."

All blushing was gone at her assertion, and he allowed himself a small smile at her words. 'That's my girl.'

He tweaked his smile into a smirk (he'd had enough of being open and soft for one day) and brushed past her, saying loudly "C'mon, bout time we went back. If we stay out here any longer the monk is gonna come spying."

"It's not like we were doing anything worth spying on."

The hint of disappointment in her voice wasn't lost on his ears, and he swiveled around to stare at her suddenly frightened face. "Are you wishing we _were_?"

And just like that, the blushing was back with a vengeance.

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*Author's Note:

Just a little something that hit me the other day while I was watching the "Naginata of Kenkon" episode arc; Kagome and Inuyasha both act so weird during those episodes. Like, Inuyasha goes from being happy to see Hojo to not wanting to help him, to agreeing without a fight and then getting angry at Kagome. And Kagome…. KAGOME. She pretty much almost resigns herself to the idea of marrying Akitoki Hojo, and since Inuyasha had been rude to her earlier she was all 'maybe humans and demons aren't meant to understand each other' basically, and it's all a mess until the last episode where Inuyasha is a sweetheart and protects her and is all 'Don't you DARE lay a hand on her'. It's precious.

But anyways, all of the plot-holes and inconsistencies and weird characterization in those episodes gave me the urge to write a follow-up fic, because I actually really liked the plot of the episodes, and I actually love Akitoki, so… I had to bridge the gaps through fanfiction.

Thanks for reading and reviewing and anything else you do! :3


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